Dean Kremer went with the high-socks look tonight, though he already stood out as one of the Orioles who’s stayed away from the injured list. Tonight marked his 24th appearance and 23rd start, the most of anyone in the rotation.
Durability is becoming a source of pride for Kremer.
He’ll also take the wins if they come to him, but it's much harder when your team doesn't score.
Kremer surrendered a run in the first inning and nothing else through the eighth in a 1-0 loss to the Mariners before an announced crowd of 19,356 at Camden Yards.
The eight innings were a season high for Kremer, who allowed five hits, threw 101 pitches and lowered his ERA to 4.17. He’s completed the seventh in seven of his starts.
“He’s been awesome," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "Talked about like the new school and the old school. That’s definitely the old-school part of him. Go out there and throw eight strong innings right there."
The Mariners have won eight in a row and 10 of 11. The Orioles were shut out for the 13th time and are 53-66.
"I respect those (injured) guys as competitors, but I don't think that has anything to do with me," Kremer said. "My job is to be an innings-eater for this team. That's the guy I want to be known as. I want to be the guy who takes the ball and gives a quality outing every time, regardless of the situation, injuries, no injuries, winning team, losing team. That's just one of my goals as a pitcher in this league."
George Kirby outdueled Kremer by tossing seven scoreless innings and allowing only three hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven.
The quick pace benefited Kremer, even as Kirby was turning aside Orioles hitters.
"It helps you stay in rhythm," he said. "The short dialogue that we have with the pitching coaches in between and kind of continuing or adjusting the plan as need be. But it definitely helps kind of stay in rhythm."
Dylan Carlson snapped his 0-for-35 streak with an infield single in the third inning, a bouncer up the middle that he beat out.
The streak was tied with Gus Triandos in 1962 for the longest in a season by an Orioles primary position player, and was the longest in one year by any Oriole since pitcher Mike Cuellar’s 0-for-36 in 1970. First baseman Chris Davis went 0-for-54 from Sept. 14, 2018-April 12, 2019.
Kirby retired 10 of the first 11 batters, with only one ball leaving the infield. Gunnar Henderson had a hustle double with two outs in the fourth on a 106.9 mph ground ball into right field, but he was stranded.
The Mariners led 1-0 in the first on Randy Arozarena’s leadoff single and stolen base and Josh Naylor’s two-out single. Kremer was aided in the second by a 9-6 fielder’s choice after Jorge Polanco led off with a single and began to retreat as right fielder Ryan Noda attempted to make a diving catch of Dominic Canzone’s fly ball.
Julio Rodríguez drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning and was thrown out trying to steal. Canzone singled with one out in the fifth and J.P. Crawford grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
The eight-pitch inning left Kremer at 66. He retired the side in order on nine pitches in the sixth, registered two strikeouts in an easy seventh and stranded Crawford in the eighth after a two-out single and visit from pitching coach Drew French. Kremer struck out Cole Young on a splitter and received a nice ovation.
Kremer had his longest outing since his complete game against the Astros in September 2022.
"In one point in that eighth inning, that last batter gone quickly and the pitch count would have stayed a little lower, we probably would have sent him out for the ninth, just kind of with the state of the bullpen and where everything’s at," Mansolino said. "But it was nice to see Rico Garcia get in there and kind of throw the (ninth) inning that he did. But Kremer’s been great.”
Meanwhile, the Orioles kept searching for the big hit. They didn’t have many of the smaller kind, either.
Jackson Holliday singled to left field with two outs in the sixth and Jordan Westburg chased a high 97.3 mph sinker. Kirby plowed through the seventh on a ground ball, popup and strikeout.
Andrés Muñoz walked Henderson with two outs in the ninth, received a visit from the athletic trainer that caused a lengthy delay, and gave up an opposite-field single to Adley Rutschman. Ryan Mountcastle bounced out after coming close to producing the Orioles' first walk-off homer.
"It just sort of hooked foul at the last second," he said, shaking his head. "It happens. But it would’ve been nice for it to have stayed fair, but unfortunately, it didn’t.”
The Orioles finished with five hits after collecting 12 in the three-game series against the Athletics.
Mansolino acknowledged the pressure that the top part of the order is under with so many proven players gone from it, but no excuses.
"If we’re gonna be a team that wins in the playoffs, those five guys are gonna have pressure on them or those four guys or whatever, six guys, whatever it is. They’re gonna have pressure on them there," Mansolino said.
"So is it debilitating pressure? I wouldn’t say so. Has it been a tough few days? Sure. Do you have to give credit to Kirby? Absolutely. He’s pretty good. I just think one through nine we’ve just got to do probably a better job of working some deeper counts and stringing together some at-bats and create a little bit more traffic. But yeah, you’ve got to tip your cap to Kirby a little bit.”
“We don’t feel any more pressure," Mountcastle said. "We just have to go out there, put together some good at-bats, and hopefully we can get that going tomorrow.”
Daniel Johnson pinch-ran in the eighth and Garcia pitched in the ninth, giving the Orioles 60 players this season, two short of the franchise record in 2021.
* Albert Suárez made his first injury rehab start tonight with Double-A Chesapeake and allowed four runs and five hits in two innings, with one walk and no strikeouts. He threw 42 pitches, 25 strikes. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle, the No. 2 prospect in baseball, hit a two-run homer in the first.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. hit his second homer, a three-run shot. He was reinstated from the injured list today.
Second baseman Aron Estrada was removed from the game with back discomfort.
Class A Delmarva’s lineup had 2025 draft selections occupying six of the top seven spots, including top pick Ike Irish at first base. Irish went 1-for-4.
Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy led off and had a single and double in his first three at-bats. He scored in the sixth on Caden Bodine’s single. Bodine also singled in the ninth and scored the tie-breaking run on Cobb Hightower’s single.
Brayden Smith had two hits, including a two-run single in the ninth.
Twine Palmer, acquired from the Astros for Ramón Urías, allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.